It has been hot in NY. 98, 99, etc. The heat hit suddenly, prematurely, with a stench, a thickness of exhaust fumes and construction dust, and a nauseating wet staleness, motionlessness that made me suddenly hate NY. The day it hit, Matt, Naomi and I spent all afternoon in Central Park at a med school party followed by a birthday party. The Tuesday before, Naomi and I went to the Museum Mile festival where she roamed freely up and down 5th Ave, occasionally wielding a piece of chalk, exploring a church, etc. We didn't go in any museums, but I'm glad we went because of the subsequent loss of an abbreviated spring. At one point while we were there, Naomi fell. A random man leaned over to help her up (so I thought), then swept her up and gave her a big smack on the lips. He seemed to be mentally altered in some way. What can you do? Oh well.
Friday evening Naomi and I went again to the Children's Museum for free friday. It was fine except for the tragedy of the new Dora & Diego exhibit. The old Dora exhibit was perfectly great and usually empty. The new one (advertised all over the city) was insanely crowded. We ended up just hanging out in the water exhibit and the Greek exhibit for older kids (the one surviving refuge from the crowds).
Yesterday I did a physical exam with a fake patient in Spanish. This was an optional thing for school for people to be evaluated who wanted to test out their medical Spanish skills. I felt really encouraged by it, even though I made a number of mistakes (mostly I lost my history taking flow because I was so focused on the language and not on the components of a good history). Naomi is starting a Spanish playgroup on Monday at a place that has a Spanish immersion preschool we're interested in (for next year, not this upcoming fall). We're trying out the playgroup to see if the place is a good fit, if it's worth the commute (22 min?), and partly just because it seems neat and like something she might enjoy. I am also planning on going with her, so that should be another good place to practice/improve my Spanish. Also, I am feeling burnt out after about nine months of doing music playgroup at our apartment.
Life has been busy. For a few days it wasn't, and I felt antsy, so it quickly became busy again. I was feeling frustrated last week by the fact that I am earning negative money this summer towork in a lab (post-taxes and childcare), so I put out an ad to do MCAT tutoring. I had an appointment today and another one for Saturday. Then I got a call from a girl who saw my ad and asked if she could pay me to take her Anatomy and Physiology on-line final exam for her tonight. (I SAID NO!!)
Here is the one lone picture we have of the last week or so (I do have video, though). Naomi enjoying herself at Samuel's party:
Overall we are all doing well, especially Naomi. She responds to time out now! Not immediately, but still...that's fun news. Also, she knows lots of letters. She's still devious, but a lot of fun and we love her. And she is the only person I know in this city who has been completely unphased by the heat, and still wants to (but no longer gets to) spend every waking minute outside.
